A paper featured in this issue of the BDJ investigates the unusual subject of asbestos related disease in the dental industry. In it, Mr Chris Fry, Partner and Head of Industrial Diseases at solicitors Wake Smith & Tofields, discusses the dangers of the asbestos-based disease mesothelioma and the possible origins of this form of cancer in dental professionals.

He says he first became interested in asbestos related disease in dentistry after reading an obituary published in the BDJ. He explained, 'My brother is a dental surgeon, and his wife's parents are very highly regarded dental surgeons in Sheffield where my sister is also training as a dental hygienist. I have many friends who are also dentists in the area. It is true to say that there's not much of the average conversation amongst this esteemed bunch that ever strikes a note with me as greatly as that of the obituary of Mr Richard Bourne in the BDJ of December 2007.

Mr Fry says that most of the cases of asbestos related illnesses he has seen at his firm of solicitors have been for people who worked as commercial plumbers, pipe fitters or foundry men.

'The thought of an asbestos risk being present in the dental profession was new to me, and I wanted to know the extent of the danger to my friends and family. My research shows that there is a significant risk to a small but probably identifiable proportion of dentists, technicians and nurses who trained with and used various periodontal powders in the 1960s and 1970s. The paper which I have submitted gives information about the particular products which are thought to have been capable of causing asbestos related respiratory diseases, and encourages readers to be alert to symptoms.'

Mr Fry added that there are different forms of asbestos related disease and not all are deadly, so his paper should be regarded as an 'early warning' notice that if any readers remember being engaged in similar working practices and begin to develop shortness of breath for no obvious reason, they should seek immediate advice. (See An investigation into asbestos related disease in the dental industry, BDJ 2009; 206: 515–516).